Women in the Dark: Female Photographers in the United States, 1850-1900. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. Pub date 2020

Photo courtesy Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City MO, reproduced under fair use, etc.

Beginning with the invention of the Daguerreotype, a surprising number of enterprising women took advantage of the new technology to establish themselves in the nascent business of studio photography. While many women worked for male-owned studios as retouchers, or as darkroom technicians. At a time when the kinds of businesses they could operate were limited, women were encouraged to open photography studios across America. By the 1860s a surprising number of these entrepreneurs were making their mark. Drawing on private and public collections, this profusely illustrated volume will serve both as a narrative history, and as a reference book. Publication date will be Fall 2020.

Portrait of feminist & clothing reformer Amelia Bloomer (1818-1894) in a “Reform Dress” (aka Bloomers) Carte-de-Visite, ca. 1859. Private Collection

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